The SMALLEST Full-Frame Anamorphic Lens I've tested on a gimbal! Sirui Saturn 35mm T2.9

I take a walk around the city with Sirui's new Saturn 35mm T2.9 1.6x Carbon Fiber Anamorphic Lens. Sirui somehow managed to shrink down their full frame optics into this tiny package..but does it deliver the looks? Let's find out!
Learn filmmaking from me: filmschool.us/...
Special guest appearance by ‪@NOMOFilms‬check out their awesome channel for travel videos and tutorials!
Buy the lens: bit.ly/3X3HgBh
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[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Do you like the flares?

[@j43l35]

Like the neutral flares, though it looks like they're a little thicker/less suppressed - if they could be neutral and a little thinner, I'd be pretty in love! But the close focus distance is an issue 🤔

[@JeremiahBostwick]

I definitely prefer the amber flare. To me though, Sirui in general has ugly looking double flares. I think the key to all your great looking footage was using diopters, shooting close and not shooting a ton of wides. Most of your subjects were inside of 3 meters. Often times much less. For the most part, I feel like their lenses have been really clinical and overly sharp. The diopter + close focus, I think goes a long way to helping the images feel more organic. Still, kudos to Sirui for making a full frame, small, 1.6x anamorphic lens that's affordable to small budget shooters and productions. That is significant and can't be understated. 1.6x stretch is also plenty for full frame (1.5 is kind of the minimum). Especially for cameras like the A7S3 and FX6 (used in this test) that don't have an open gate or 4:3/5:6 frame mode.

[@marclapinff2709]

Where can buy the gimbal? Thanks

[@darknight975]

Perfect

[@VinnieCamilleriMusic]

Prefer the older version.

[@flochfitness]

The most underrated part of Brandon’s work, the color grading. This wouldn’t look nearly as cinematic if it weren’t for post production. Bravo as always Brandon!!!

[@BrendonKPadjasek]

I was just about to comment the same thing haha. You can tell he spent time perfecting his craft. so sick

[@flochfitness]

@@BrendonKPadjasek agreed!

[@flochfitness]

The smaller size is a big win for SIRUI. The V1 is enormous. Throwing this 35mm on a a7siii with a tiny gimbal is just insane. Allows for a lot more creativity and run and gun

[@NOMOFilms]

Thanks for the shoutout and glad we could catch up in NYC! 🙌

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Thanks for all your help guys!

[@bmefilms6879]

the color and look of the scene at 5:00 is straight out of a movie. amazing work Brandon!

[@flochfitness]

4:37 this walking shot is money!!! The light really helped on this one. Good stuff!!!

[@chadiwack]

WHAT!!!!! Look at the size of that lens on that gimbal and it WORKS... you sold me.

[@knowyourmo]

Brandon - thanks for this video! Always tremendous info and great looking footage from you! I like the compact size of the Crane M3 and you make it work well!

[@romanvillarreal4233]

This is a great review of these funky cool lenses. Thank you this and for the inspiration!

[@a.lenanl]

Amazing video! Thank you so much, I was really suprized with this combination (lens+gimbal)!

[@azenvilagom]

Both is fantastic. Beginning of the video that blue flare is beautiful. Hard to deside.

[@Walkwithrc]

Thanks for another master piece 🙏🏻

[@JohanFitFoodie]

Just got it this week and can't wait to try it this weekend with my DJI Ronin in Beijing as well. Great review!

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Enjoy!

[@bobkrist1]

Nice to see Josh and you working together!

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Good to hear from you Bob!

[@NOMOFilms]

Hope you are doing well Bob! We will have to get together in the future!

[@AndrewLXiong]

Hi Brandon, is the lens manual and how do you get it to focus so well on your gimbal? Love your work!

[@marcewing3514]

Great! Thanks for the review, Brandon! And I just bought it! We will see what I can do with it. :-)

[@dylanjohndickerson]

Cool overview, Brandon! I was surprised to see that the flaring wasn't too overbearing like some anamorphic lenses. Seems like a good option!

[@Beauty.and.FashionPhotographer]

Your colorgrading is beyond top notch.... what an awhh inspiring video....

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Thank you! Really I don’t do much grading. I just pick nice-looking things to film

[@bySterling]

Anything The Man Mr Li shoots is M M M Magic!$

[@DARKLYLIT]

Wow! Those images are so cinematic and dreamy-looking. If it weren't for the fact that you're super-experienced shooters and that you've done a great color grade, I'd think about buying the lens!🤣

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Thanks, no color grading really, just a transform lut and some exposure tweaks. Lighting and white balance can create a great look.

[@skiddlybatch]

Which gimbal Is that? I can’t get over the size of it. Thanks for all your videos!

[@REVIEWSONTHERUN]

Cool! Thanks for sharing it. ✌️

[@Beauty.and.FashionPhotographer]

This is just soooo amazing... wow i had no idea siriu made such a small 35mm 1,6x ... only have seen the big one.

[@miguelberns]

Really love your works brandon, watching this wants me to also buy the lens. Color grading are top notch. I hope you do more cinematic films soon. Huge fan from philippines ✋

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

I want to know where the bar got the Judas Priest neon sign! :)

[@aaa_alsharhan]

brother, I know I'm too late into this video, but the colors are so authentic and rich, if you can make specific DaVinci luts out of them if they are Slog-3 Id love to get my hands on them

[@DoItJesusWay]

Hey really glad you are there doing this and you teach at the same time. I'm in Connecticut. I just sold my A7c, Might get the A7siii or the FX3. Ever hit Connecticut hit me up here. Peace!

[@awa303]

Nice work Brandon. With the 1.6x on a 16:9 sensor you would get around a 2:8 aspect ratio right? are your sample shots in this video still at that aspect? Do you find yourself scaling up to 2:35 much when shooting with these lenses or happy with the more narrow look?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

The lenses look better (sharper) if you use a wider aspect. But the 2.35 is more standard so I used that aspect ratio.

[@dzphotoboi]

The song in the background at the bar is called "Sports" by the Viagra Boys and you should listen to it because its amazing.

[@DanielJordanOfficial]

How can I find that Gimbal? And what lens filter is on there? The quality is amazing! I have that same camera+lens (a7s3+Saturn 35mm)

[@KeywordManagement]

Can't beat those blue flares.

[@carsonlight_lapse6394]

loved the content and the neutral flare compare to the blue flare, makes the image less exaggerated by that blue (was hesitant to get that because of that blue), now i might get this lens!

[@taras_argunov]

Hi, Brandon! Great review, thanks! If you have only two options - this sirui vs laowa nanomorph s35 - what would you take?

[@FranciscoAlvarezTV]

I'm looking at this anamorphic lens as a great talking head video that will enlarge my studio. Do you think I can get away with sharp videos if I were to stay still? I'd also love to use it for anamorphic photography. What are your thoughts?

[@AlexYem]

Recently bought the V1 and love it. The weight is a problem though so will def be picking up the V2 for travel!

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

In my opinion V2 is just as good, but smaller! I see no reason to buy v1 anymore unless you need a certain focus ring diameter for compatibility with follow focus systems.

[@MrTechTok]

900g vs 400g , def go of the v2

[@Shah_creates]

Subscribed. What gimbal is that?

[@kidalan]

Thanks for the video @Brandon Li! Quick question: did you correct the pincushion distortion on the final shot in this vid (the 14 Street subway shot)? If so, did you do that in-camera or in post? Thanks and appreciate your time and response. :) I’m definitely seriously considering this lens for my FX3 and FX6, but I’m not into pincushion distortion (I much prefer barrel if I have to choose).

[@checkeredflagfilms]

speaking of focus...how did you focus your moving shots? manual or auto focus with the Sony A7Siii?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Manual pre-focus

[@BijuViswanathfilmmaker]

thank you for the amazing visuals.what's the total weight with camera and lens and which gimbal did you use?please let me know

[@benoitmahaut6263]

Amazing ! What preset you used in the final edit ?

[@tom_nuyts]

Great and intuitive comparison and review - thank you very much! Onew question remains: are you sure that both lenses habe the same optical construction? on their website Sirui says that the Saturn lens uses aspherical elements... that is not the case with the Venus 35 mm...

[@angusmackay7281]

What gimbal were you using? I just got the lens and s5iix, thinking about adding a gimbal.

[@arthurkravtsovchannel]

Very cinematic look!

[@LeoWirasanto]

Hi Brandon, I curious what gimbal is that? So minimalist :D

[@ViewsofHarry]

It's the zhiyun crane m3. I was wondering the same thing and found a review he did on it on his channel earlier.

[@philpritchard5173]

V nice. Thx..The V2 looks better but I'm thinking that was probably just the A7S 3 that made it look better.. The indoor shots looked amazing. So did the others..

[@aybee5908]

I like the light weight carbon body and prefer the natural flares. Blue streaks are ok in Scifi stuff or in special teal and orange grading. The need of a diopter lense is a uge disadvantage, though. For about 1100 $, one step faster would be also more pleasing. All in all it`s elaborate receiveing an organic looking footage. And not to forget: you`re a master of grading anyway.

[@matiascarelli3644]

Gracias por tu trabajo

[@TScalibrate]

Hi Brandon, are you going to run a sale on your Unscripted course by any chance for Black Friday?

[@definezero]

loved the flare. just a tad softer than the older lens, however I got a bit scared by the low light example. not really nice at all. wasn't properly sharp and it was blooming all over the place.

[@mdturnerinoz]

Nice. Even the low-light shots weer watchable.

[@MrTechTok]

Great video as always Brandon, just got this Lens also, loving it. Looking through the comments looks like you use Davinci Also, what's your workflow for desqueeze? just adjust the height setting to .635?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

For this vlog I just set Y scale to .635 because I was posting it in 4k. The better way is to multiply the X scale by 1.6 and set the timeline resolution accordingly. Then you have sort of a 5k timeline. This takes full advantage of the de-squeezed resolution.

[@trogdor]

Thanks for doing this test and showing us these lenses side by side. That said, is it just me or are these lenses lacking the anamorphic character in the bokeh? I'm not seeing the elongated look and just see a wider aspect ratio.

[@OwoyemiMichael]

I like the new lens flare than the first 35mm lens. Nice video.

[@Taunus_Sound]

Great video again! I don’t have experience with anamorphic lenses, considering the 35mm for my A7r or maybe the ZV-E1 in the future. What I’m asking myself is if you see the real look just after de Squeezing or can you already see in your A7S immediately how it looks like?

[@shaladdis]

I don’t think it has a de squeeze function so you’d need an external monitor to do that

[@nebukadnezzar3578]

Sorry, totally off-topic, but can we please appreciate the pristine sound while Brandon is talking?! It's crazy considering they were shooting in Downtown Manhatten... Brandon, would you reveal to us, how you achieved that? :) Thx!

[@nebukadnezzar3578]

Just had a thought, is it Resolve's new audio isolation feature maybe?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Haha yeah I used resolve voice isolator and the Sony on-camera shotgun, the one that doesn’t need a cable

[@nebukadnezzar3578]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted I find the result really impressive! Thx for sharing! :)

[@SatanSupimpa]

Soundtrack by Viagra Boys at the bar scene haha

[@flamonaut]

Do you use any anamorphic lens on your daily basis? I wonder if a Sony 20 1.8 in active stab plus black bars in post wouldnt be easier? You have closer focussing minus anamorphic bokeh ;) great footage as usuall Brandon!

[@gianniskamakas3578]

I think you have more of tele way of images with the wider sense. With 20mm you ended up with a lot of roundness

[@VinnieCamilleriMusic]

The new version appears more sharper but the older one looks nice and soft, thanks for the show and tell.Would you ever have these as part of your run and gun?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

I think the sharpness is the same. Maybe it was just differences in lighting or exposure. I prefer the smaller one, and if I had a kit of 3 of them I would try to use them for some kinds of run-and-gun shooting where I had some control over the subject. Otherwise it would be too difficult to manually focus.

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

If you get an anamorphic, you need a set. Can’t mix anamorphic and spherical. So you should get the Sony unless you’re building a matched anamorphic set.

[@VinnieCamilleriMusic]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted I got the Sony. I’ll get more productivity out of that. Be able to fly on the gimbal with that gem.

[@mjy2006]

Hey Brandon, great review! I bought this lens! question for you? Have you noticed a wobble on the sides of the frame especially operating handheld? any tips on how to minimize that?

[@BrendanMariani]

hey the IBIS on sony isnt set up for anamorphic so that could be why

[@HesselFolkertsma]

Fugazi - Repeater… anyone else notice it? It’s a good bar when that’s in the song selection.

[@AdalbertNiksha]

Thanks for review! I see no FF system on ur setup. Wonder if this lens focus can be controlled by camera and if so - it can be controlled by app and gimbal I guess. So there is no need for FF system

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

The lens is manual focus only

[@LucaBono.Studio]

I hope they'll make an L-Mount version of this lens, so we can use it in 3:2 open gate mode 🙃 Thanks for the video Brandon!

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

They definitely need L-mount, those are the perfect cameras for these lenses because of the open gate. Or...Sony could just let us shoot 3:2.

[@visceraljourney]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted You will definitely have to buy a new camera for that option. I would not hold my breath for any sort of firmware update from Sony that would bring such a cool option to the table. Sadly.

[@TiagodeJesusManifesto]

gimbal Crane M3?

[@rw3452]

What gimbal are you using?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Crane m3

[@rw3452]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted thank you

[@bradleyjadir5849]

looks like the first ''cheap'' anamorphic that looks good to me

[@videolaricin8634]

Please Brandon do a video about your focus settings 🙏

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

I just pre-focus and maintain same distance from my subject.

[@videolaricin8634]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted so you mean manually ?

[@BrendanMariani]

hey, this lens is manual so I believe thats what he meant! @@videolaricin8634

[@lanapetrosian3402]

how do you have a diaper and a ND filter on? what ND filter are you using?

[@Confluxi]

do you know what lenses i can use that work with the crane m3 and sony a1? thanks

[@flatCOIN2012]

Hi there, thanks for the nice video. I have a question. I m thinking about getting some of those lenses, but most people I know personally say that I should get a monitor which desqueezes the image. Im not a big fan of too much equipment. It seems as if you didnt use an extra monitor - how easy is it to focus this way? How is the workflow? Thanks in advance and have a nice weekend :)

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

I focused using the LCD screen and focus zoom. Double checked with EVF. For external monitor I use HDMI to USB to phone, with Monitor+ app

[@flatCOIN2012]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted thanks a lot! Have a great weekend :)

[@Sagar_G_Sharma_ContentCreator]

awesome awesome

[@lanapetrosian3402]

how did you shoot w/o an external screen to de-squeeze your image? was it hard to focus correctly?

[@fromia1]

Do you recommend the Sirui Saturn or Laowa nanomorph series?

[@cinematools9621]

Interesting lens. Are you planning on testing it more in the future?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

I need a kit, at least 3 matching anamorphics to use it in a practical way. So I’ll wait for Sirui to come out with a few more.

[@coxchandler1]

Beautiful shots. Why does the image curve inward/concave at the edges of the frame? (@1:34, for example) Only other time I've seen something like that is with an APS-C lens on a 35mm camera

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

These lenses have pincushion distortion

[@AndyRiesmeyer]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted Is there anybody who prefers pincushion to barrel distortion? I sometimes find it more flattering on people than stretching them out, even tho I know barrel distortion is a classic characteristic of wide anamorphic lenses.

[@BrendanMariani]

Hey Andy I read this so thought id give my two cents! In theory I always preferred barrel distortion, but recently started using this lens in prep for next video, and now I've become a big fan of this specific pincushion look. Plus Cooke anamorphics have pincushion on their wides and the whole "cooke look" is meant to be a thing@@AndyRiesmeyer

[@godsakes]

Does an extension tube not work instead of a diopter?

[@sandiatek7201]

What gimble you're using during the filming?

[@MrMolotov69]

How can you see what you’re shooting if the image is squeezed?

[@toxotis70]

Can you use extension tubes instead of diopters?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

I assume you can but I haven’t tried

[@DSLRMAN01]

Can you use the autofocus lens adapter on this lens for Sony cameras?

[@aShotByFred]

I have the same lens, but I have the blackmagic 6kff , which gimbal should I get? Anyone?

[@RapzoneProductions]

THERE IS NO ANAMORPHIC MODE IN A7S3 SO WHY DO WE EVEN USE THIS LENS FOR DOES IT GIVE THAT OVAL SHAPE AND 1.6X MORE DEPTH OF FIELD WHICH WE CAN SQUEEZE IN POST?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

I think you need to research how anamorphic works. Check out the Anamorphic on a Budget channel.

[@xxfutureisnowxx]

@5:18 Rocka Rolla

[@chaddychaddychaddy]

What gimbal are you using Brandon?

[@visceraljourney]

Waiting for your test of feiyu tech scorp mini!

[@MartinDelRio-vn8nu]

What nd filter system are you using? When I use my 77mm and 82mm I still see my nd filter on the sides not sure if it’s the step up rings

[@domgrimard]

what diopter pack would you recommend?

[@NowyKurs]

What Gimbal You use?

[@GiacomoGemmiti]

Nerdy question, why does this lens curve all the way towards the center? --> ) ( I mean, I have an old Century Anamorphic 1.33 that does the exact opposite, it curves everything outwards, like these two brackets --> ((and I love it!)). I mean, normally, in an anamorphic lens, all the lines tend to curve outward in a rounded way (caused by the oval nature of the lens). In this case it looks artificial, as if the four corners are pulled away. I hope I made myself clear :)

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Many anamorphics have pincushion distortion, even expensive ones like Cooke. I don’t know the technical reason for it but you can remove it in post very easily.

[@nicklaytonUK]

Something this small is capable of something which is really good enough. It's hard to know the post production process you've used. You're losing the top and bottom of the frame, so when you post produce, do we see the far edge of the lens? I am assuming yes, but I am guessing it becomes even more cinematic on 4:3.

[@Theonlylobe]

Do diopters affect the desqueezing process when shooting with anamorphic lenses???

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Squeeze stays the same. Just shifts the focal point closer

[@AdvWithEli]

What’s that gimbal?

[@MrTechTok]

zhiyun m3

[@wonderpaultv]

why you did not mention the gimbal you used.

[@thepowersarchive]

What gimbal is he using here? It's so compact!

[@PapiCoco]

Was that pincushion distortion came from the filter..?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

The lens has pincushion distortion. Both v1 and v2

[@CHRIS_S54]

Nice. Would love to test these out on my Red Dragon. Thanks for the review.

[@egshane]

does the sony autofocus work with either of these lenses?

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Nope

[@Tomas_and_liza]

The pin cushion on the Saturn isn't looking great... Flares are nicer, but the green blob messes it up again.

[@SamuelJamesVideos]

What gimbal is that?

[@ShellyBHollis]

neutral is a game changer

[@TW-iu9zy]

… indeed, anamorphic t2.9 + diopter + ISO 12.800 doesn’t look good while shooting with the a7S III. Better use a aspheric lens with a lower t-/f-stop. Outside the Sirui looks decent - and sometimes excellent. 👍🏻

[@BrandonLiUnscripted]

Lower t-stop anamorphics will be much more expensive, and much bigger. It’s a trade-off.

[@toxotis70]

@@BrandonLiUnscripted are there any other FF anamorphic lenses with bigger aperture now ?